


That Would Be Enough

by LannaBanzai



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Fluff, Multiple Lifetimes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-28
Updated: 2016-05-28
Packaged: 2018-07-10 20:10:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7004632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LannaBanzai/pseuds/LannaBanzai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emma and Killian keep meeting through multiple lifetimes, little oneshot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	That Would Be Enough

He’d never noticed, how her skirt moves when she spins. How her feet ever so lightly touch the ground before lifting off again; the bare tips of her toes gracing the floor with her presence. He’d never noticed, the sharp intake of breath she took when she was preparing for an important move. She’d spend hours at the barre, he’d seen her perfecting her  _ pliés _ and her posture. He’d been amazed at the power behind her, the strength in which she practiced hours a day to achieve perfection. 

 

He’d marked her once before, three lifetimes ago, when she was young and so was he, before the accident that claimed his career and hand all in one go. Dancers had to be perfect, no imperfections that they can’t hide, and that was one imperfection nobody could disguise. He’d tried a prosthetic, but it didn’t work right and they wouldn’t let him in. All he can do until this lifetime is over, is teach and examine. 

 

So he did, he taught a few classes and when exam time came around, he’d been chosen for this one group once more. He was their final examiner, the one to determine if they were good enough. They’d finished their performances last week, Swan Lake, and this girl, this Emma Swan, had been the lead. As the pianist finished his song, and the four dancers stopped moving, he understood why. She was amazingly talented, and graceful beyond belief, but there was an air about her, something that said she was a lot stronger than she appeared, more in tune to the way the world works. 

 

“That is all, thank you.” Short and sweet, he couldn’t say more. It’s how it had to be, but as he watched her walk away, he wished he could say more. 

  
  


***

 

He met her again, by chance one day in a coffee shop long after either of them had been out of the game and lifetimes away from the ballet studio. She had a lost look about her, and a kid at her side. She was just as beautiful as she had been before, her hair long and curly around her face. She wasn’t a dancer this time, he could tell just by looking at her, but neither was he. 

 

“Oh sorry, did he wreck your shirt? Henry what have I told you about running off like that!” She sounded exhausted, and he understood, children are difficult. 

 

“It’s alright,” He replied, glancing at the probable stain of ice cream on his shirt. “The lad meant no harm.” She shot him a smile and scooped up her boy, his face in a seemingly permanent wide smile. 

 

“Still, I can’t do much but at least let me buy you coffee as an apology.” She wouldn’t back down no matter how much he refused, so he just accepted his fate and let her. It was torture this lifetime, because she was married and had a boy. She should have been happy, but he knew that she wasn’t. He’d long since memorized her facial expressions, one of the many things to never change in other lifetimes.

 

“Here, black like you requested.” She placed a travel mug beside him as he turned away from her boy. Henry, the name he knew over and over again. 

 

“Thank you.” He smiled at her, a little timid but he knew better. Something flickered in her eyes when he met them, recognition it seemed. 

 

“I’m sorry, have we met before?” It pained him to shake his head, but he couldn’t say more. He couldn’t say they had met a hundred times, each time different than the last. 

 

“Are you sure? You seem really familiar.” 

 

“I must just have one of those faces.” 

 

When he finished his coffee, they went their separate ways. Her to her unhappy marriage, and him to his empty house. 

 

***

 

It was cold this time, unreasonably cold. A blizzard in the middle of winter dousing everything in silence. He wondered how he was going to meet her this time, how they would end up. Would they be together in this life, like they had been once before? Would they even meet in this lifetime? He wasn’t sure. He could never be sure. It almost seemed to be a privilege to meet her each time, like it was something he was unworthy of but still got to do. Like a peasant meeting the queen. Oh he remembered when she had been queen, and he ruled at her side. 

 

He stepped out the door, the cold biting at his face so hard he almost turned around and went back in. Had it not been for his brother needing medicine, he would have headed right back inside. But Liam needed him, he needed his help. So he pulled his scarf tighter around his neck and set off to the store. The cold of the snow seeping into his bones, his nose and cheeks probably red as a lobster.

 

Thats where he saw her, among the isles in the practically empty pharmacy. She was muttering to herself, debating on which brand she should buy. He moved passed her without a word, every nerve in his body screaming at him to say something, to talk to her. But he moved on, grabbing the medicine off the shelve and turning towards the cashier. If she speaks, he will say something, but only if she says something to him. He moved behind her again, praying that something would fall out of her mouth, but nothing did. He bought the medicine and turned home, the walk seemingly longer than usual. 

 

***

 

He was unaware how many lifetimes had passed him this time. The number must be close to a thousand now, surely not yet, but there was a chance. The first time they met was so long ago, the start of the ages. Each lifetime spoke to him, screaming at him to find her, this was his last chance. However this lifetime had hardened him, changed who he was. It was unbelievable how this lifetime had come about, the complete opposite paths their lives had definitely taken. Then he saw her, her stunning green eyes and blonde hair illuminated by the light of day. He knew this lifetime would be the hardest of all, that their trials would be the longest. 

 

He knew this time he wasn’t going to give up, and he didn’t. It took a long while to get her to trust him, they’d both been hardened by time. But when she met his eyes, and he could not hold back anymore, all those lifetimes had been worth it. 

 

Until he had to die.

 

***

 

“You have one last chance, go.” He did not know where that voice came from, who it belonged to or who gave him this chance. But he was grateful. This time, he would not be so foolish. 

 

He met her casually, just by chance on a day he had been jogging. She was out with a friend and their eyes met as he passed. Out of habit, he winked at her. 

 

“Morning.” He smiled and her friend with the red hair streak started giggling. He didn’t wait to see her reaction, lingering would be too much for him. But he heard her friend angrily half whispering to her, probably trying to convince her to go after him. He figured that would be the last he saw of her, that he’d blown his one chance. If he had, it didn’t matter. He had all the other lifetimes to think of, to remember. 

 

“Could you hold the door please?” He heard her angelic voice in the store a few days later, she was seemingly in a hurry, so he held the elevator door. “Thanks, wasn’t sure if I was going to make it.” She pulled a hair tie off her wrist, placing it between her teeth as she pulled her hair up. He had no idea if she remembered all the lifetimes, or any of them. But she was so close now, it was rare for them to be this close twice in one lifetime. 

 

“You almost missed it.” He was afraid she could hear the hesitation in his voice, judging by the tiny smile lighting her face he knew she had. 

 

“Killian, I know you remember.” He turned to face her in surprise and she pressed her lips to his, a feel he knew all too well. 

 

“Emma, I...I wasn’t sure if you knew.” She slipped her fingers into his, the warmth spreading through his body. It was as if he had been numb until now. 

“I didn’t, not until a few days ago. When I saw you, it all came rushing back. Every single lifetime, every memory. It’s all there. I’m sorry you had to go through it alone, I know you remembered in each one.” He smiled at her, twirling his finger through her hair. 

  
“It was always worth it.” 


End file.
